Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine to NBC’s ‘Voice’

Reality series to premiere April 26

Grammy Award winners Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine will form half of the foursome of musical coaches on upcoming NBC series “The Voice.”

The reality competition skein will premiere April 26, airing 9-11 p.m. for two weeks before moving to an 8-9 p.m. slot starting May 10.

“Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine represent the essence of ‘The Voice.’ They are two of the hottest music artists right now, and their voices are instantly recognizable,” said NBC alternative programming exec veep Paul Telegdy. They are “the perfect inspiration for our contestants to look up to as they begin their journeys from ‘voices’ to true artists.”

The coaches will each select singers to mentor during the audition period on the show (except in the case of singers who are so impressive that they get to pick their coach). Later, the coaches will bring in personal contacts in the music world — such as songwriters and producers — to help build the contestants into artists. The final phase of the show will include live performances.

Singer-songwriter-producer Green won a Grammy in February for urban/alternative performance. Levine has been the frontman of Maroon 5, which won three Grammys beginning with new artist in 2005. He said he was “thrilled” when “Voice” exec producer Mark Burnett offered him the position.

“It’s an honor for me to be able to help mold a malleable and new talent in such a fashion as ‘The Voice.’ Being a coach on ‘The Voice’ is a substantial responsibility, and I take it with sincerity and distinction,” he said.

Carson Daly will host the show, which offers a grand prize of $100,000. John De Mol created the program and is exec producing with Burnett and Audrey Morrissey for Talpa Prods. and Warner Horizon TV.

NBC is counting on its stable reality series to help the Peacock stay competitive while topper Bob Greenblatt gets more comfortable.. “The Biggest Loser,” “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “The Sing-Off” were all given pickups for the 2011-12 season Feb. 22.